The petition calls on Sunderland City Council to cancel its contract with the kennels – which allows them to take in strays found wandering the streets – and now has almost 7,500 signatures.

But John Carr, who runs the kennels with his wife, Lorraine, says he is shocked by the claims and has since been inundated with calls of support.

He said: “The phones have been ringing off the hook all day with people saying they couldn’t believe what they’d read and offering us support, which we appreciate.

“We’ve got two kennels here and people are mixing them up. West Hall Boarding Kennels is for private boarding and Cleadon Kennels is the local authority side of it. But there’s no difference in standard. The dogs are well cared for on both sites.

The phones have been ringing off the hook all day with people saying they couldn’t believe what they’d read and offering us support.

Lorraine Carr, Cleadon Kennels

“The dogs are checked on by our staff all the time and a vet comes out every week to do health checks, so they are very well looked after.”

He added: “I was shocked by what everyone was saying. We’re doing an excellent job here and the best one that we can.

“We’ve been running the local authority kennels since 1993 and there has never been any problem before.”

Mr Carr said that Environmental Health visited the kennels yesterday.

The story sparked a big online response with Shields Gazette readers.

Heather Smith posted on Facebook, saying: “It might not be a palace but at least they are alive, dry and fed.”